Relationship dossier
South Africa
South Korea
Relationship assessment
South Africa and South Korea maintain a strategic partnership with cooperation focused in part on trade and investment.
South Africa toward South Korea
+35South Africa agreed with South Korea in 2022 to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership and pursue cooperation through bilateral agreements, including in trade and investment.
South Korea toward South Africa
+35South Korea agreed with South Africa in 2022 to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership and pursue cooperation through bilateral agreements, including in trade and investment.
Overall relationship
+35The strategic partnership established in 2022 and related bilateral agreements provide a cooperative framework, including for trade and investment. The relationship appears constructive, though the breadth and durability of practical cooperation are not clear enough to characterize it as a close partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
South Africa and South Korea established a strategic partnership in 2022, building on longstanding diplomatic engagement. Their governments have pursued cooperation through high-level talks and bilateral agreements, including cooperation in areas such as trade and investment. The partnership indicates meaningful but not exceptionally close cooperation; its practical scope and implementation are unclear.
Key developments
South Africa and South Korea elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership and agreed to pursue wider cooperation, including through bilateral agreements.
Major uncertainties
- The extent to which the 2022 strategic partnership has produced sustained practical cooperation is unclear.
- The breadth and implementation of bilateral agreements beyond trade and investment are uncertain.